BASEBALL PLAYOFFS. INSIDE THE NLCS.

If Padres Extend To Game 5, Don't Be Surprised To See Brown

October 09, 1998|By Paul Sullivan, Tribune Staff Writer.

ATLANTA — San Diego manager Bruce Bochy said after Thursday night's victory that he would stick with his four-man rotation, which means Kevin Brown wouldn't pitch again in this series unless there is a Game 6 next Wednesday in Atlanta.

But with the Padres up 2-0 and hoping to clinch it with two more victories at home this weekend, some feel Bochy will change his mind and pitch Brown on three days' rest if there's a Game 5 in San Diego on Monday.

Asked if would be ready to pitch on three days' rest again, Brown said, "Depends on how I feel tomorrow after I scrape the blood off my knee."

Brown looked very stylish in a filthy uniform during the final three innings, the result of making an unsuccessful headfirst slide into third while attempting to advance from first on Quilvio Veras' RBI single in the sixth.

"I picked myself up and said, `What an idiot I was for misreading the ball,' " Brown said. "It was a baserunning error."

"He's killing me--to watch him make a headfirst slide into third," Bochy said. "But that's how he plays the game--all-out. He's a throwback."

Vaughn out: San Diego slugger Greg Vaughn was out of the starting lineup Thursday after straining his left quadriceps in the slippery outfield during Wednesday's game.

Vaughn was available for pinch-hitting duties, but Bochy said he would probably be out for the next three to four days--and possibly up to 10 days--which would mean his season is likely over.

But Vaughn insisted he might be able to play the outfield again by Game 3 on Saturday in San Diego.

"I've been a quick healer in the past, and I can tolerate a lot of pain," he said. "The only thing is, when I'm in the outfield I don't want to be the reason for us to lose the ballgame because I can't run to get a ball. But if I don't play in the outfield, I'll be playing, no doubt."

Zoned out: If Gary Gaetti said it once during the Cubs-Braves series, he said it a thousand times. Braves pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux receive a generous strike zone from plate umpires, particularly on borderline calls on the outside corner.

This perception has been around for years, but Maddux claims it's all a myth.

"I really think the strike zone is no different," Maddux said. "I sit there and we chart a lot of games. I've charted Smoltzie, and I've charted Glav, and I've seen the pitches that they've gotten. I've seen the other pitcher get those same pitches. I think the difference is we just throw more there. I think that's the difference. I don't mean to belittle the other pitcher, but a lot of times we might throw three or four pitches there where they might throw two or three. That's probably why it seems we get more pitches."

Longest day: Wednesday night's 10-inning game in the opener ran almost 3 1/2 hours, not including a two-hour rain delay that preceded it.

"It was the longest game that I've been a part of," Braves starter Smoltz said. "And I've been a part of a lot of long games. It was mainly because of what this game meant. When you're part of a long game in the regular season--big deal. You just wait it out. But I knew we were in trouble when everyone talked about never having a rainout here in Turner Field.

"It was a situation where the only team that got that Vitamin B shot was the team that won, because the other team was going to be doubly tired--more than they want to be. That's just the way it goes. When you lose a tough game like that, all you can do is get up the next day and say, `Here we go.' "

Baseball 101: Chuck Knoblauch's Little League blunder in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series Wednesday was still water-cooler talk Thursday. Knoblauch quarreled with the first base umpire after the disputed play in the 12th inning, allowing the go-ahead run to score for Cleveland while the ball sat on the ground.

"You have to realize as a player that the play is not over," Chipper Jones said. "You can't take it for granted that the umpire is going to make that call. We've all been there. We've all sat and been spectators when really we should've been doing something else. Unfortunately that was a play that cost them the game, and in that sense I kind of feel for him a little bit."